1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technology for launching an external application that is installed separately from preinstalled applications in an image forming apparatus that provides user services on copying, printing, scanning, faxing and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, an image forming apparatus (to be referred to as a compound machine hereinafter) that includes functions of a printer, a copier, a facsimile, a scanner and the like in a cabinet is generally known. The compound machine includes a display part, a printing part and an image pickup part and the like in a cabinet. In the compound machine, three pieces of software corresponding to the printer, copier and facsimile respectively are provided, so that the compound machine functions as the printer, the copier, and the facsimile respectively by switching the software.
Such a conventional compound machine on the market includes a mass storage such as a hard disk device (HDD). Although a hard disk device is used for storing an application program for a PC (Personal Computer), the hard disk device in the image forming apparatus is not used for storing an application program but is used mainly for storing image data since reliability of the hard disk device is low.
Therefore, according to the conventional compound machine, firmware including the application program is provided by embedding it in a nonvolatile memory such a flash memory when the compound machine is produced. Then, every application is launched from the nonvolatile memory.
Since the conventional compound machine is provided with each software for the printer, the copier, the scanner and the facsimile individually, much time is required for developing the software. Therefore, the applicant has developed an image forming apparatus (compound machine) including hardware resources, a plurality of applications, and a platform including various control services provided between the applications and the hardware resources. The hardware resources are used for image forming processes for a display part, a printing part and an image pickup part. The applications perform processes intrinsic for user services of printer, copier and facsimile and the like. The platform includes various control services performing system side processes such as management of hardware resources necessary for at least two applications commonly, execution control of the applications, and image forming processes.
According to such a new compound machine, the applications and the control services are provided separately, in which the control services perform complicated processes such as accessing hardware resources and the operating system. Thus, after the compound machine is shipped, users or third party venders can develop new applications to run on the compound machine. By doing so, various functions can be provided.
As to the new compound machine, it is necessary to install the external application into the compound machine after the compound machine is shipped separately from the existing applications, in which the existing applications relates to image forming processes such as copying, printing, scanning and faxing installed before the compound machine is shipped. In addition, it is necessary to launch the installed external applications.
However, it is generally difficult to embed the external application in the nonvolatile memory after the shipment of the compound machine. Therefore, it can be considered to use an IC card such as a flash card or a hard disk device as a storing area for the external application.
However, as to the new compound machine, for using the hard disk device or the IC card as the storing area for the external application, it is necessary to launch the external application from the hard disk device or the IC card. In addition, as to the new compound machine, the external application may be provided via a network.
In addition, as mentioned above, in the case where various mediums or areas such as the IC card, hard disk, an area in a network can be used as the storing area for the external application, there may be cases where all external applications can not be launched due to limitations of resources such as memory area of the compound machine. Thus, there may be a problem in that an external application can not be added in a customer side. This is a new problem that was not a problem for the conventional compound machine since the conventional compound machine does not assume installing the external application after shipment of the compound machine.